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Rendezvous and Docking Tutorial
There is a video tutorial available at Youtube. A rendezvous takes place when two or more spacecraft meet in orbit; whilst docking refers to two spacecraft connecting via docking ports. These two actions are essential for making Space Station and complicated rockets. It's not hard for some but has a steep learning curve. Make sure there is plenty of fuel and optionally, RCS Thrusters on the two crafts. __TOC__ Rendezvous Before you're able to dock the two craft, the two craft have to be close. The action of bringing two craft close is called "rendezvous". There are mainly two methods available. Fast Rendezvous It's a relatively difficult approach. This rendezvous method make uses a small window to quickly get two craft to a close orbit. A similar method is used on the Soyuz rocket and spacecraft to perform a 6-hour ISS rendezvous in real life. Step 1 Send the first craft into orbit, get it as circular and low as possible We'll call it α(alpha), to discern the two. Once it's in an orbit, all steps on α are done. Now we need to maneuver the remaining craft into position - let us name it β(beta). Step 2 With this method, we aim to rendezvous with α as soon as we reach low Earth orbit. So in order to do that, we need to time warp until α is about one sixth the length of a full orbit away, as shown in the picture to the right. Of course, you have to take into account the velocity of α and the speed of your rocket. Step 3 Launch β. Make sure you selected α as target, it will be indicated by a dotted grey line between β and α. Launch normally until your apoapsis and α's orbit match. Adjust your velocity to shrink the dotted line. Step 4 After all that, it's time to time warp. Time warp until you are somewhat close to your appoapsis. Then burn prograde to make a full orbit. If you did it right, you should see α in the distance. Easy Rendezvous A simpler rendezvous method, useful for most players. Step 1 Send the first craft into orbit, get it as circular and low as possible. We'll call it α(alpha), to discern the two. Once it's in an orbit, we can launch the second craft. Step 2 Launch a second rocket, and get it into a similar orbit with α. We'll call this one β. Step 3 Select your target. You'll see a grey dotted line. That line is the distance between you and your target. Now burn prograde until you can barely see the dotted line. Otherwise, you may choose to wait for a few orbits for the line to get closer. Step 4 Time warp until α and β are very close. Now burn retrograde in order to cancel out the relative velocity and you're all done! If you did it right, you should see your target nearby. This method can be very accurate. Intersection Rendezvous The intersection rendezvous was used by later Apollo mission crew to quickly dock with the CSM. Step 1 '''Get alpha into any orbit. '''Step 2 '''Have the beta launch just as alpha passes over the launchpad. '''Step 3 '''Fire your engines until your trajectory will have its closest approach with alpha at less than 100 meters. '''Step 4 Time warp until the craft are very near. Zoom out until you see alpha, as a faint speck moving across. Immediately after that, fire beta's engines in alpha's direction. Then, you can proceed with docking maneuvers. Docking Once a rendezvous was made, the next step will be docking. This will require the use of RCS Thrusters on either craft. Use the D-pad on the RCS control panel to translate yourself towards the other craft's docking port. Use the L/R button to rotate the craft to face the docking port. Slowly accelerate towards the craft; make sure to apply reverse thrust if moving too fast. When the two crafts has docked, the camera will move to the center of mass of both docked vehicles. Category:Tutorial Category:Gameplay